Dialysis and kidney transplantation report

The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare has just released Dialysis and Kidney Transplantation in Australia: 1991-2010.  End-stage kidney disease is a serious and costly health problem in Australia that usually requires kidney replacement therapy (dialysis or kidney transplantation) for patients to survive. At the end of 2009 there were more than 18,000 people receiving kidney replacement therapy. The majority received dialysis treatment, which accounted for more than 1.1 million hospitalisations in the 2009-10 financial year. During 2009 more than 2,300 patients started kidney replacement therapy and 772 kidney transplant operations were performed.